Labour MP in call to vote Lib Dem

A senior Labour MP will today tell Labour supporters to vote Liberal Democrat in some constituencies at the next election.

Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead, who chairs the all-party Commons Committee on Social Services, makes the call in a television interview for Westcountry Television to be screened tonight. In the interview, to be broadcast from the Liberal Democrat Conference in Glasgow, Mr Field advocates anti-Tory tactical voting to maximise the chances of a Conservative defeat at the polls.

In rural constituencies such as North Devon, North Cornwall and West Devon, where the Labour vote in 1992 was small, Mr Field says he would "welcome" Labour supporters switching their vote to the Liberal Democrats. In constituencies where Labour has been in second place, Mr Field says Liberal Democrats should vote tactically to make sure that the Conservatives are beaten.

t George Soros, the financier whose speculation against sterling helped eject the pound from the European exchange rate mechanism in 1992, would support Labour at the next general election, writes Hamish McRae.